Spaghetti Carbonara

I was asked last week by one of my readers for a spaghetti carbonara recipe. She said that she had attempted to make it at home and it had turned into a complete disaster. Now, before I go ahead and share this recipe with you guys, I will say that I know this reader personally and she is a fabulous cook. I highly doubt that it was a disaster but nonetheless I loved how this carbonara turned out so I wanted to share it with all of you!

I have copied the directions from bell'alimento literally verbatim because I think she hit the nail on the head. Timing is EVERYTHING with this dish. The main ingredients are spaghetti, garlic and fresh Parmesan - heaven! This dish will turn out perfectly if you just follow the directions below word for word because it is essential that each step is done while something else is cooking....you following me? Follow the steps below and you will have restaurant style carbonara at home in no time!

Source : Bell'alimento

You Will Need:

• 1 package spaghetti
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 6 oz pancetta – diced
• 4 large cloves of fresh garlic -minced
• 2 large eggs -room temperature – beaten
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• freshly cracked black pepper

Here We Go:

• Place a large pasta pot with enough water onto boil and season generously with salt
• Once water comes to a boil, add spaghetti & stir so that the pasta separates
• Cook for 8-10 minutes until al dente and reserve one cup of the pasta cooking water.
• WHILE the spaghetti is cooking, in a large pan over medium heat add olive oil and cook pancetta/bacon until fairly crisp (about 3-4 minutes).  Reduce heat to low, add in garlic and cook for another minute (you don’t want your garlic to burn).
• WHILE the bacon/garlic are cooking crack your eggs into a small bowl & add 1 cup of cheese. Mix together and set aside.
• Drain your pasta well and add to bacon mixture. Is is IMPORTANT that your pasta is HOT when adding it to the mixture. Toss well (I find two forks or tongs work really well for this). Take off of heat.
• To your plating bowl, add cheese & egg mixture. Transfer the pasta to plating bowl and toss well to combine. If you find the mixture is too thick, you can thin it out with a little of the pasta water (remember you can always add more so add sparingly) Season well with pepper. Garnish with the remainder of your cheese.

Serves 4
Happy Feasting!

MM Sandwiches - PW Style!

"KATE! I have a recipe that you HAVE to make!"

That was an email from my friend Sarah about these sandwiches that she found on the Pioneer Woman and said that I must try. She was absolutely right! These sandwiches are melt-in-your-mouth delish! They have tremendous flavor and once the pepper jack cheese is bubbling on top of these bad boys your mouth will be watering before you even take your first bite. Given that these MM sandwiches are a favorite of the Marlboro Man (Pioneer Woman's husband); your boyfriends, fiances and husbands are sure to love them too!

You Will Need:

• 4 Tbsp Butter
• 2 pounds Cube Steak (round Steak That's Been Extra Tenderized)
• Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Pepper
• 1 whole Large Yellow Onion, Halved And Sliced Thick
• 2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Sliced Into Rings
• 2 whole Red Bell Peppers, Sliced Into Rings
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 16 oz, weight White Mushrooms, Sliced
• 2 Tbsp (additional) Butter
• 1-½ cup Sherry (regular Or Cooking Sherry Is Fine)
• 4 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 4 dashes Tabasco (more To Taste)
• 8 whole Deli Rolls (the Crustier The Better)
• 2 Tbsp (additional) Butter
• 8 slices Cheese (Provolone, Swiss, Pepper Jack)

Here We Go:

• Cut cube steak into strips against the grain, season with salt and pepper and set aside
• Heat 4 Tbsp of butter in a large skillet over high heat
• As soon as it’s melted (but before it burns) brown strips of cube steak in two or three batches, about 1 1/2 minutes per side and remove meat to a clean plate when brown. Set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium-high and add onions, garlic, green peppers, and red peppers and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until relatively soft (but not flimsy.) Remove to a clean plate. Set aside.
• Melt 2 additional Tbsp butter to the skillet
• Add sliced mushrooms and stir
• Pour in sherry, then add Worcestershire and Tabasco
• Cook over medium-high heat for five minutes, or until liquid has reduced by about a third
• Add in meat and vegetables, stirring to combine. Cook for just a few minutes to heat everything up, adding more sherry and Worcestershire (and Tabasco) as needed
• Stir in 2 Tbsp butter at the end and keep hot
• Toast halved deli rolls in plenty of butter until golden brown and crisp
• Spoon meat/veggie mixture on the lower half of the bun, then spoon one or two tablespoons of pan sauce over the meat (it will soak into the bun.)
• Drizzle a little sauce on the underside of the top bun, too, for extra flavor and moisture
• Top with cheese and broil for a minute or two, until the cheese is melted
• Serve immediately



Serves 8
Happy Feasting!



Chile - Glazed Shrimp

I was looking at my recipe index last week and realized that the only seafood listed was the cucumber and dill salmon. We eat a fair amount of seafood (or so I thought we did), so I was trying to think of what to cook next. Tuna, rockfish or maybe some sort of fish tacos? Well, while I was perusing the Internet I came across this recipe for Chile - Glazed Shrimp and I knew this would hit the spot. I also loved that the ingredient list was rather simple, and all I needed to buy was the sesame oil and the sambal oelek (both of which can be found on the international isle at any major grocery store). These shrimp are packed with a little heat and are great served over brown rice or brown rice noodles (pictured above).

Sourced from Cooking Light, June 2004

You Will Need:

• 2 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)

Here We Go:

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat
• Add oil to pan
• Add garlic and shrimp, and stir-fry 2 minutes
• Add the onions, soy sauce, honey, and sambal oelek; stir-fry 3 minutes or until shrimp are done
• Serve over brown rice or rice noodles

Serves 4 (3/4 cup each)
Happy Feasting!

Pasta With Cherry Tomatoes and Arugula

Last night was one of those nights where I didn't have anything planned for dinner and was hoping that we had enough food in the fridge that I could make something worthwhile. I was in the mood for pasta (per usual) and knew that we had some leftover arugula and cherry tomatoes. I was about to wing it when I thought that maybe I should try googling "pasta + cherry tomatoes + arugula". I did just that and I ended up discovering this recipe from July 2008 that was in The New York Times. It was just what I was hoping to find - garlic, tomatoes, arugula, balsamic vinegar and Parmesan cheese - doesn't get much better than this!

You Will Need:

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved if small, quartered if large
• 1 plump garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups fresh arugula, coarsely chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 pound bow tie, penne, rigatoni or whatever other pasta you have on hand
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (I used a bit more than this for topping)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Here We Go:

• Combine the cherry tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, arugula, basil and olive oil in large bowl and stir all ingredients together
• Let sit for 15 minutes and then adjust seasoning to taste
• While above ingredients are sitting, bring a large pot of water to boil and add pasta
• Cook al dente, until pasta is firm to the bite (Cooking time varies depending on type of pasta)
• Drain, toss with tomatoes mixture and 1/4 cup Parmesan
• Serve in bowls and top with more Parmesan if desired (I did!)



Serves 4
Happy Feasting!



Guacamole



I am definitely one of those people who could eat guacamole on almost anything - chips, tortillas, crackers -all delicious! I was craving some guacamole with my chicken fajitas and about 10 minutes later I was dumping spoonfuls of this recipe on top of my dinner. I didn't have any cilantro on hand so I didn't end up adding it to this recipe. Nonetheless, I was very pleased with the results and might not put cilantro in my guacamole moving forward as I think cilantro can sometimes overpower the other flavors.

You Will Need:

• 1/2 cup diced onions
• 1 cup diced cherry tomatoes
• 2 avocados (feel to make sure they are fairly soft/ripe)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 lemon, halved

Here We Go:

• Dice onions and cherry tomatoes and put into medium sized bowl
• Peel avocados and remove pit
• Coarsely chop avocados and add to bowl
• Add salt, garlic powder and pepper
• Squeeze the juice from one lemon (be careful of seeds)
• Mix all ingredients together delicately as to not completely mash up the avocado (it should be somewhat chunky)


Serves 2-4
Happy Feasting!